Dutch firm Ingka has acquired California-based Locus, an AI-powered logistics software company, to transform the Ikea home delivery experience.

Ingka is the largest Ikea retailer and the investment aims to strengthens Ikea’s digital capabilities, giving the retailer more control over home deliveries.

Locus offers an AI-powered logistics management platform, featuring route optimisation, real-time tracking, and the smart use of vehicles and resources.

In today’s retail landscape, customers expect a seamless home delivery, taking the complex digital systems that make it possible for granted. Historically, Ikea (www.ikea.com) has relied on multiple third-party providers for these essential services. The acquisition of Locus represents a move by Ingka towards making shopping and delivery even smoother for its customers.

By integrating AI capabilities, Locus (www.locus.sh) should help Ingka enhance efficiency across the supply chain, from capacity management and optimisation to last-kilometre execution. The partnership not only strengthens how Ikea delivers home furnishings to customers globally but also supports its ambition to create a faster and smarter distribution network.

“Our vision is to create a better everyday life for the many, and that includes delivering products when and how customers want them,” said Parag Parekh, global CDO for Ikea retail at Ingka (www.ingka.com). “This acquisition strengthens the digital capabilities required to meet rising customer expectations, while ensuring the quality and reliability Ikea is known for.”

Nishith Rastogi, CEO of Locus, added: “Joining the Ikea family marks a historic milestone for Locus and the customers we serve. This partnership preserves our independence and ensures our perpetuity, while unlocking the scale and resources to serve our global enterprise customers with unmatched research and development. To usher in this new phase, we will expand significantly across product, engineering and revenue teams, to build a legacy of innovation and impact spanning decades, not years.”

This acquisition comes at a critical time, with online sales representing 28% of total Ikea (www.ikea.com) retail sales in 2024, up from 11% in 2019. The integration of Locus’ technology should strengthen Ikea’s ability to meet this growth, complementing earlier technology investments such as Made4net (made4net.com), which will help enhance the company’s warehouse management, and TaskRabbit (www.taskrabbit.com), which expanded furniture assembly services.